Galaxy of Fear
The Star Wars galaxy can be a scary
place, but never too scary. Star Wars certainly never reaches horror-levels
akin to Ridley Scott’s Aliens. But sometimes, on rare occasions, the franchise
has dipped its toes into the genre of horror.
In 1997 “Horror” was reaching its apex
of popularity. Kids were wearing “No Fear” shirts and reading “Goosebumps” books.
Films such as “Scream” and “I Know What You Did Last ThSummer” were conquering
the box office. 1997, was a good time to be a kid.
1997 was also the year that Star Wars
tried to cash in on the children’s horror genre with its series “Galaxy of
Fear”. The first book in the series “Eaten Alive” had a cool holograph cover
featuring a hideous monster. Any 90s child that was a fan of Star Wars and a
fan of Goosebumps must have been eager to read this novel.
Except for some reason I didn’t. Maybe
it’s because 1997 is the year I entered middle school or maybe it’s because
even at the age of 12, I was skeptical about a Star Wars / Horror crossover
series. Maybe I saw right through the marketing ploy. I don’t know why I didn’t
read this series as a kid, so I decided to try as an adult.
“Galaxy of Fear” it turns out stars two
orphans who lost their parents when Alderaan exploded. They were adopted by
their mysterious shape-shifting uncle, Hoole. Tash is a force-sensative girl
curious about the legendary Jedi whose history has been erased by the Imperial
government through a series of “Chinese-Great-Firewall-Like” tactics. Her
brother, Zak, is a skimboard enthusiast (pretty much a space version of Marty
McFly).
The twelve-book series also features
cameos from more famous Star Wars characters such as Han Solo, Luke Skywalker,
and Princess Leia, but also some appearances from EU characters such as Thrawn
and Dash Rendar.
Whilst reading through the first novel
I wanted to get a rush of 90s horror nostalgia. But I have to say, it didn’t
really happen. Author John Whitman tries to emulate “Goosebumps”, he really
does. There is the fact that every chapter ends with a scary cliffhanger (even
if the slimy thing that crawled around Tashes’ neck turns out to be a lei of
flowers given to her by the locals). There are mysteries and monsters but at
no times did the book feel “spooky”. Spooky is important. Spooky is the
difference between action/adventure and horror.
In “Goosebumps” anything could happen
and everything did happen. It was silly and zany at times, but literally
anything could happen to the main characters. There were “Twilight-Zone-style”
twist endings where on the final page characters could suddenly find themselves
trapped in the body of a crow for eternity. You never knew what could happen in
Goosebumps and the possibilities kept you wide awake all night long- not because
you were scared, but because you were eagerly consuming the next chapter and the
next and the next.
“Galaxy of Fear” is not “Goosebumps”.
If for no other reason it is because these books are serialized. Tash and Zak
are featured in every book. These kids can’t turn into crows or be trapped in a
painting. Nothing could happen to the main characters because they have to be
around for the next book, so there is no real danger.
I guess in retrospect what I learned
from these books has very little to do with Star Wars and very much to do with how awesome those Goosebumps books were. I’ll
definitely have to check out next summer’s Goosebumps film, which apparently
stars Jack Black as R.L. Stein.
Star Wars would not jump back into the
horror genre until many years later when the adult-novel “Death Troopers” was
published. I’m not finished reading “Death Troopers” yet, but as far as
“horror” goes, this one is the real deal. More next week!
More Star Wars Halloween Posts...
Galaxy of Fear
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